M. R. James
Ghost Stories: what to read next?
Books close in genre, era, author or reading level, to read in bilingual editions.
Robert W. ChambersThe Green MouseA humorous American novel. In New York in the early twentieth century, a ruined young man earns his living with magic tricks and trained animals, including mice dyed every colour; one of them, a green one, escapes into the studio of his neighbour Ethelinda, a young painter.…Same genreSame era
Arthur Conan DoyleThe Hound of the BaskervillesSherlock Holmes, a detective with relentless reasoning, is called to investigate a curse that seems to haunt the Baskerville family. Alongside Dr. Watson, he unravels a case where superstition and reality become intertwined. On a dark and unsettling moor, every clue counts in…Same countrySame genreSame era
H. G. WellsThe Island of Doctor MoreauWashed up after a shipwreck, Edward Prendick is put ashore on a remote Pacific island inhabited by an exiled scientist and his assistant. The islanders, unsettling in their features, recite a Law like a prayer, and cries come at night from the laboratory. Prendick discovers the…Same countrySame genreSame era
Guy de MaupassantThe HorlaAlone in his Normandy house, a man keeps a journal of the disturbances that began when a Brazilian three-master sailed past. He sleeps badly, drinks from his carafe at night without remembering it, and becomes sure an invisible being lives beside him. His notes, methodical at…Same genreSame era
Algernon BlackwoodThe Empty HouseA collection of ten supernatural stories. In the title story, young Jim Shorthouse goes with his Aunt Julia, who is passionate about psychical research, to spend a night in an empty house in a small seaside town, where a crime was committed a century earlier. Shorthouse returns…Same countrySame genreSame era
Arthur Conan DoyleTales of TerrorA collection of twelve short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, gathered in 1922: six tales of terror and six of mystery, with no detective and no recurring hero. An aviator climbs higher than any record to find out whether creatures live in the sky; a doctor, resting on a farm in…Same countrySame genreSame era
H. P. LovecraftAt the Mountains of MadnessA group of scientific explorers travels to Antarctica and discovers ancient remains buried under the ice. As they advance, they realize these structures belong to a forgotten civilization far older than humanity. The expedition turns into growing dread in the face of…Same genre
Henry JamesThe Turn of the ScrewA governess is put in charge of two children in an isolated manor, but she quickly believes she perceives disturbing presences around them. Convinced that invisible forces threaten the children, she tries to protect them while doubting what she truly sees. The atmosphere…Same genreSame era
Robert Louis StevensonDr Jekyll and Mr HydeDr Jekyll, a respected scientist, develops an experiment that allows him to separate the two sides of his personality. Under the identity of Mr Hyde, he unleashes his darkest instincts without restraint. But this transformation becomes uncontrollable and threatens to destroy…Same countrySame genreSame era
Fergus HumeThe Green MummyIn a lonely village on the Thames marshes, Archie, a poor young painter, wants to marry Lucy. Her stepfather, Professor Braddock, a collector of Egyptian mummies, agrees on one condition: Archie must pay for a rare mummy, that of an Inca king of Peru wrapped in green bandages.…Same countrySame genreSame era
Gaston LerouxThe Phantom of the OperaA ghost haunts the backstage of a Paris opera house, imposing his presence and rules on the artists. Christine, a talented young singer, draws his attention and becomes the center of a strange bond between fascination and control. While another man tries to protect her, the…Same genreSame era
Charlotte Perkins GilmanThe Yellow WallpaperA young woman is taken by her physician husband to a summer house, to rest from a nervous condition that followed a birth. Forbidden to write or to work, she keeps a secret journal and spends her days in a room hung with yellow wallpaper. The pattern on the wall slowly takes up…Same genreSame era